Today, it’s hard to tell that Centralia was once a community of about 1800 people. The trees which were cleared at the time to make way for a mill, town, housing and rail have taken a strong hold once again. There are relics from the past like brick used in the furnaces, glass and burnt wood/charcoal fragments.
More impressively, the ramp where the logs were rolled up into the mill from the float pond remains as well as the base of the double band saw itself.
Numerous concrete pilings line the forest floor that served as the base of the sawmill. Cypress grow in the middle of the float pond and dense canopy abounds. An elevated railbed can also be identified on the south side of the float pond. There is no marked path out to Centralia and the hike involves scrambling through some dense brush. During the summertime, the mosquitoes are brutal and one must be careful not to disturb the intimidating banana spiders.
The story of Centralia is twofold. On one hand its history embodies the spirit of American resourcefulness and productivity during a time of rapid growth. The other side of the story is the tragic loss of history itself, by no means limited to Hernando County and the Centralia logging town. The ancient cypress, in some cases thousands of years old, removed from our soil has changed our landscape forever. As a community it is crucial to ensure that their story is told as well as the very interesting town that emerged, prospered and disappeared with that of which they harvested into oblivion.
All of this history is unbeknownst to many who zoom by the ghost town on US 19 daily. However, The Historic Hernando Preservation Society would like to rectify that by placing a State historical marker in the vicinity of US19 and Centralia Road. The organization recently finished markers for the historic communities of Bayport and Chocachatti. In order to do so they are raising funds from the community, with a goal of $2000. To date, they have raised $500. If you are interested in being involved with this project contact the Hernando Historic Preservation Society at hernandopreservation@gmail.com